


Diverged Paths

by Corporal_Levi25



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Infinity War, Redemption, almost, good guy loki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2019-07-19
Packaged: 2020-07-08 16:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19872910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Corporal_Levi25/pseuds/Corporal_Levi25
Summary: Loki escapes with Bruce, ends up on Midgard, and gets his chance at revenge. It changes everything and nothing at all.





	Diverged Paths

Loki glared at Thanos as he took down the Hulk.  _ This is going badly. _ Heimdall had been knocked away like a fly and Thor wasn’t faring any better. Loki pushed his fear and panic down before summoning his trusty sword, Laevateinn.  _ It has been quite some time, my dear. _ Loki didn’t wait for Thanos to finish with Hulk before he charged at him. None of the surrounding Black Order members did anything to stop him, and that should have been a sign. Thanos dealt a swift, strong punch straight into Hulk’s chest, sending him backward, before turning on Loki. A quick motion brought a green, shimmering shield to intercept Thanos’ fist, aimed directly for Loki’s head. Loki jumped over his barrier and slashed down. The fine tip of the sword graced Thanos’ skin with a quick, thin cut down the side of his face.  _ Not deep enough to bleed more than a few damn drops. _ Thanos wiped at the cut, looked at the blood, then glared at Loki.

“First time someone got in close?” Loki taunted.

Thanos merely grinned at Loki. 

“Nothing to say?” Loki asked.

“Take a look there,” Thanos replied calmly.

Thanos motioned to something behind Loki, reluctantly Loki turned. His blood ran cold. Ebony Maw had a vulnerable Bruce and a weakened Thor in his metal grasp. The metal was slowly tightening. Loki quickly became infuriated and began to step towards them. Thor’s muffled shout caught his attention. Loki spun around, sword raised, and- Thanos had a tight grip on his neck. The hand on his neck was accompanied by a sharp pain in his chest. Black Dwarf’s ax was embedded deeply into his chest, from his low abdomen to his sternum. Loki dropped Laevateinn and it vanished back into his interdimensional pocket before it hit the floor. 

“Maw is always so good at giving me ideas. Especially when it comes to disappointments and consequences,” Thanos informed Loki indifferently.

Loki could feel the increasing pressure threatening his bones. His vision was being tainted red and a stream of blood ran from his eyes, nose, and mouth. It hurt. The pressure squeezing from both outside and inside his body. He couldn’t breathe or focus. Hearing nothing, feeling only the agonizing pressure as the life was squeezed out of him. He vaguely felt himself struggle, legs kicking and arms grasping at nothing. He was slowing, darkness creeping into his vision. He felt his bones creak and groan then- the pressure was gone, replaced by the loud roar of fast movement. Loki knew this weightless feeling.  _ The Bifrost? _ The last thing Loki was aware of was another body, bumping into his and holding him tightly.

* * *

Bruce Banner was a doctor, sure, but he wasn’t prepared to handle Loki’s wounds. When they had landed, Bruce, as the Hulk, had tried to cushion Loki’s fall. It had worked for the most part, but, as Bruce crawled out from under the seidr user, he saw the damage done to his...friend? He wasn’t sure what they were, but Loki was dying. There was a giant ax in his chest, Thor and Heimdall were nowhere to be found, and Valkyrie had left in a pod with a small handful of Asgardians. On top of that, Bruce had no idea what Loki’s biology was like, he wasn’t Asgardian but Jotun. The only reason he knew that was because Thor told him, not Loki.  _ Not sure how he’d like that little detail. _ Regardless, the situation was dire. Loki was bleeding out and his neck might be broken. Bruce was on the verge of panicking. 

“Help,” He murmured weakly, “Help! I need help! Someone!” Bruce screamed as he did his best to staunch some of the bleeding around the blade.

A man in blue robes and a red cape and another plainly dressed man appeared at the top of the hole they had created. It was then Banner realized they had landed in a house, specifically a set of stairs. 

“Wong, help get him out of there,” Strange said, immediately taking in the situation.

The plainly dressed man, Wong, climbed into the pit with the other weirdly dressed man and helped Banner get Loki out of the hole. They gently set him down, and the other, unknown man began to strip his cape, levitating off his shoulders, and the longer robe.

“Who-Who are you?” Banner asked as he knelt down beside Loki’s prone form.

“Wong, get Stark. I’ll take care of Loki. My name is Doctor Stephen Strange. I can help Loki, but I’ll need your assistance,” The man, Strange, informed easily.

Wong left through a ring of sparking orange while Banner looked around wide-eyed. Strange grabbed him by the arms.

“Doctor Banner, I need you to calm down. I need you to help me,” Strange ordered sternly.

Bruce nodded as he focused on the task at hand.  _ I can’t go into shock right now. _ Strange had created some sort of glowing green mandala in the air and the locket at his chest opened. The blood stopped flowing from the massive chest wound.

“Let’s get to work,” Strange told Bruce.

Together, with limited first aid kit supplies, they somehow managed to close the worst of the wound. The mandala disappeared and the locket closed as they finished the dire part of taking the ax out. It had been heavy and difficult to move without causing further damage, but it seemed Loki knew that as his magic was helping with the healing. It was as they were slowly stitching Loki’s chest together that Wong returned with an arguing Tony Stark.  _ This had to have taken hours, what has Tony been doing to keep Wong busy that long? _ Bruce sighed, he really wasn’t that surprised.

“I don’t even know you! Why should I…” He saw Loki first, then Banner.

“What the fuck?” Tony asked intelligently. 

“Tony, I know-” Banner started, still looking at what he was doing.

“Why is Loki here?! Where have you been and why are you helping Loki?! Who are you two?!” Tony asked in quick succession. 

Banner shared a look with Strange, at his nod, Bruce stood. Strange quickly finished the stitching and began to inspect Loki’s severely bruised neck. 

“It’s not broken,” Strange observed with slight confusion. “The blood coming from his eyes, nose, and mouth suggest enough pressure to pop the blood vessels. He should be dead.”

“Healing magic is at work,” Wong motioned to Loki, “Invisible to us, but he is a seidr user, draws his power from without and within.”

“Regardless of that, where’s Thor, and how did this happen?” Tony gestured to Loki’s prone form, “It took the Hulk to put even a scratch on him.”

Bruce stared at his bloodstained hands and retold the tale. Loki was still unconscious throughout the entirety of it. Seidr diligently working to mend the internal and external wounds. 

“So this Thanos, is he coming to Earth?” Stark asked seriously.

“Yes, for Vision, he has the Mind Stone. Thanos only needs the Mind, Time, Soul, and Reality stones,” Wong answered.

“All the more...reason to...prepare Midgard,” Loki rasped from where he lay. 

“Hey, wait, lay back down!” Bruce insisted. 

“No, I’m fine-“ Loki managed to get the sentence out before a wet coughing fit shook him.

Blood stained his teeth as he breathed harshly through bruised windpipes. Loki shivered a moment before breathing in slow.

“I will be healed soon enough. I need to get back to Thor, to find him,” Loki murmured.

“Loki…” Bruce started.

“Sorry Reindeer Games, but Point Break is gone. He’s not here, and from what Brucie said, Thanos isn’t going to let him live,” Stark informed.

Loki glared tiredly at Stark before looking to Bruce. Bruce only shook his head ever so slightly.

“No, Thor’s alive. He has to be. I-I cannot be the last Asgardi-“ Loki started in a rushed croak.

“Do you hear that?” Strange interrupted.

The five quieted down and listened. There was a loud, strong roar of air displacement. Loki and Bruce exchanged a knowing look.

“They’ve arrived,” Loki said, standing to full height, forcing the pain to the back burner.

Loki gritted his teeth, summoned Laevateinn, and pushed the pain pulsing from his chest and throat further away. He was seething with rage and bloodlust. Nothing else mattered than killing Thanos and the Black Order.

“I will make them regret it,” Loki snarled.

“Loki, wait! You are not nearly well enough to-“ Bruce started.

“I am fine, Banner. You focus on finding whoever has an infinity gem, I will tear the minions limb from limb,” Loki ordered.

With a growl, he ran out of the door and against the stream of panicking people. As he went, he donned his leathers and armor, an engraved hammer now decorating his vambrace and a piece of Thor’s hair intertwined with a piece of his own. Loki remembered when Thor gave it to him. It had been intertwined with his own hair in Thor’s hair. Loki summoned Gram into his left hand, already wielding Laevateinn with his right. He heard Stark, Strange, Wong, and Banner following behind. 

“What a glow up, am I right?” Stark humored. 

Loki didn’t need to look at Bruce to see the dry look he shot Stark. Loki came to a stop and stared into the kicked-up debris. Strange cleared the air to see the ship. A beam deposited Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian a few meters in front of them. Loki glared at them both before launching an attack, not giving anyone the chance to say or do anything. A blast of green energy slammed into Cull Obsidian, sending him flying backward. Ebony Maw watched his companion go with mild disinterest. Loki sent another blast to Maw. Maw raised a hand and redirected the blast into the ground next to him.

“Loki, I see you have betrayed us,” He droned.

“I was never with you,” Loki snarled.

Deadly green fire engulfed Loki’s clenched fists in a show of power. A wicked grin graced his features as he lunged for Maw. Loki got one well-placed punch right to Maw’s face, leaving a scorch mark in its wake. Maw shoved him away with a piece of torn-up concrete and pinned Loki to the side of a building. Sharp pieces of steel shot through the concrete to stab Loki through the palms, shoulders, sides, and ankles in a twisted crucifixion. Loki grunted through clenched teeth as he felt the steel tear through bone and muscle alike. In the distraction, Maw had captured Strange and Black Dwarf had re-entered the fight. Iron Man had somehow gained another fighter, agile, nimble, quick, but young and slightly fumbling. Bruce finally managed to get out of the fight between Iron Man and Cull Obsidian, sprinting to where Loki was trapped. Loki pondered if it would be so bad to let himself bleed out. Then Thor’s face flashed in his head.  _ No, revenge then death.  _

“I swear, I just patched you up then you go and ruin all my hard work,” Bruce muttered as he looked at the concrete. 

“Step away,” Loki ground out as Bruce fluttered around him.

Banner stepped away and Loki gathered energy into his core and released it in a half-dome. The steel ripped out of him and the concrete fell away, leaving Loki to land gracefully on his feet. His seidr already working diligently to heal him in a slight green shimmer.  _ It will heal but will leave scars.  _

“Worry not, your work is still intact. Where is the sorcerer?” Loki questioned.

“I-I don’t know. They went off that way,” Banner supplied.

Loki bent space and appeared where Bruce had motioned.  _ Just in time.  _ Loki jumped into the air and tackled Strange out of the tractor beam, the new addition following. Loki cushioned their fall with his body, the red-clad hero landed on his own. Loki rolled both himself and the sorcerer in a shield as Ebony Maw charged them. Loki dropped his glamour and raised a blue hand. The white lines traced his form, only interrupted by scars. Frost settled over his leathers and armor, Loki grabbed onto Maw’s thin forearm, mid-motion to slam a car door into Loki. 

“You’re so prepared for magical attacks, you ignore the physical,” Loki advised, his red eyes boring into Maw’s pale ones.

Ice quickly crawled over his skin and sank into his blood. Frostbite settled in and Maw became stiff and slow. Loki smirked as he plunged Laevateinn into the underside of Maw’s chin. Loki brought his glamour back into place, scanning the area around him for Cull Obsidian, retracting his sword and letting Maw’s cold body hit the ground. Loki hesitated on Bruce’s shocked expression before landing on Wong.

“Where is Black Dwarf?” He asked.

“Antarctica. The only thing left of him here is a hand,” Wong answered.

Loki nodded.

“Good, now where-” Loki started.

“You were blue!” A young voice exclaimed from behind him.

Loki turned to take in the new addition. He was younger than Loki initially thought.  _ Too young for war. _ Loki cast a quick spell and Maw’s bloody body was consumed by fire in an instant and turned to ash in even less time. The ship departed into the atmosphere, leaving Earth as quickly as it came. Loki glared as it left.  _ There goes my one chance to get to Thanos first. _ Loki sighed tiredly before he took in the red, blue, and gold suit. A spider splayed strongly on the boy's chest.

“...I...yes, I was,” Loki confirmed.

_ And here comes the horror, the fear, the rejection that befits a monster, a welp, a- _

“That was awesome! How did you do that?!” The Spiderling asked excitedly.

“Uh, kid, you know who you’re talking to?” Stark questioned, mask raised.

“Yeah, Loki!” Spiderling replied eagerly.

“Yeah, Loki! Dangerous, homicidal maniac from a couple of years ago! He’s dangerous and you shouldn’t even be here!” Stark fretted.

“Stark is correct, Spiderling. You are a child, not a warrior fit for the upcoming carnage,” Loki added.

“Hey, it’s Spider _ man _ ,” Spiderling stressed. “Besides, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”

“Tony, we need to call Cap. Get everyone on this,” Banner urged at the edge of the group.

“I-It...It isn’t that easy,” Stark replied.

“Yes, it is. Pick up the phone, call Steve.” Bruce said.

“The Avengers disassembled.” Stark huffed.

“...What? Like a band? Like The Beatles?” Banner questioned incredulously.

“All my hard work, gone to fucking waste. For what? What happened?” Loki growled.

“Your hard work?” Spiderling questioned. 

“You don’t honestly think you defeated me? You just watched me fight with not even a fourth of what I’m capable of and you believe you defeated me? No, dear child, I let you win. I knew Thanos would be victorious in days if Midgard did not have defenses. I had to guide you to assemble and give you confidence, which I did, at my own expense if I might add,” Loki explained cockily. 

Silence fell densely over the group. Stark stared at Loki, as did Bruce and Spiderling, Wong was busying himself with trying to rouse Strange.

“No way. You did not-” Stark started.

“If I truly wanted to take Midgard, I wouldn’t have gone with a frontal assault. I would have conquered your realm via its oceans. Vaporize them, state my terms, then await your surrender. Midgard cannot survive without water. Besides, what does it matter now? Convene the heroes. We have work to do,” Loki replied bitingly.

* * *

Once Stark explained what had happened, Loki shot him an arched eyebrow and a dry look. Without a word, Tony dialed the only number in the phone and contacted the Captain. 

“They’re heading to the compound. We should go,” Stark said.

Doctor Strange quickly opened a portal and the group stepped through, except for Wong and Strange. Loki nodded at them as the portal closed.  _ This will make for an interesting story. _ Loki began to venture through the rooms, once he found an empty bedroom with a wide window he closed the door.

“Hey, what are you-” Stark started.

“A moment, if you’d please. I just...Thor and Heimdall were not given proper remembrance...and…” Loki trailed.

“...yeah, of course,” He conceded and walked away.

Loki sat down, facing the setting sun, palms facing up. A small purifying fire nestled in them

“Brother Thor, Guardian Heimdall, may you be welcomed into the grand Halls of Valhalla to join your fellow warriors and family where you will live forever. We...I will not mourn but rejoice…” Loki trailed, tears fell slowly down his face.

Loki stopped and looked helplessly at his palms, unsure how to proceed and trying to get Maw’s monologue out of his head. He doesn’t know how long he sat there crying silently, staring into nothing, feeling nothing, hearing nothing. _It’s all gone, they’re all gone. It’s all my fault. Heimdall, Mother, Odin, Tho-_

“Loki? The others…Are you alright?” Bruce asked.

_ So concerned, why? _ Loki kept the question to himself as he straightened. He shoved his sadness away, wrapping it in anger and rage. He rubbed his face before standing proudly, turning to face Banner.

“I’m fine. Let’s go, shall we?” Loki replied, too softly for his liking.

Bruce looked him up and down, seeing something Loki didn’t want him to see.  _ Say nothing say nothing say nothing- _

“Okay, well they just arrived, so I haven’t told them about...you,” Banner moved on.

“Ah, this will make for an interesting conversation.”

When Loki came into the room, the Captain and the Widow were the only familiar faces. The Widow froze where she stood and the Captain seemed to do a double-take. 

“What the hell Tony?!” Captain America exclaimed.

Weapons were primed and ready in an instant, all aimed at Loki. Loki pondered for the second time whether or not to let them kill him, and for a second time, Thor’s face flashed. Loki closed his eyes in uncertainty and opened them in determination. It went unnoticed by many as Bruce placed himself between Loki and the hostile portion of the group. 

“Bruce-” The Widow started.

“No, Loki’s with me. If you turn on him, you turn on me. I will not let you-” Bruce began.

Loki placed a calm hand on his shoulder.

“Bruce, if they-”

Bruce didn’t give him the chance. He turned on him quickly, pointing a finger in his face. It was then Loki noticed that something was nagging at the edge of his mind.

“No, no self-deprecating, self-sacrificing, or whatever other bullshit, Loki. I will not let you let them push you away, not right now. You’re my friend and you’re...Thor’s gone. I don’t think you’ve processed that yet. Sure, you have the engraving on your armor, and the hair, but you’re not stable yet. I can see it, don’t deny it. So don’t patronize them and don’t condemn yourself because you think you deserve it. Understand?” Bruce asked fiercely.

Loki looked at Bruce, slightly shocked. The nagging was becoming irritating, but Loki ignored it.

“You would defend me, side with me, over your longer known friends?” Loki examined.

“The length of a friendship does not equate the strength of one,” Banner replied.

To everyone’s surprise, including Loki, Loki found himself saying, “...I...understand.”

“Well, there’s an answer to the Loki situation,” Stark humored.

Loki was finally able to take in the new group. He quickly recognized the Mind Stone and gave a questioning looking to the injured man. The nagging stopped, replaced with a voice.  _ See me? See me? See me?  _ Loki did and he hated it, hated the stone for calling to him. He also felt the singing of his own energy, entwined in another. His curse was embedded in the red woman, along with the Mind Stone’s faint energy.

“Oh dear child, I am so sorry,” Loki murmured.

Loki hadn’t been aware of the conversation around him, unintentionally interrupting. The red woman looked caught off guard.

“What?” She asked.

“I was not aware the curse I placed on the Mind Stone would spread to others. I had placed it in a rush. For that, I apologize,” Loki gave a slight nod.

“What do you mean curse?” She asked,

“What is he talking about Wanda?” Natasha asked.

“You don’t know?” Loki asked.

_ Oh shit. _ The woman, Wanda, shook her head.

“When Thanos was...I had...When I first started to use the Mind Stone, I placed a curse on it so that it would return to me whenever called and turn on those using it. Those who were not me or did not possess any of my energy. I suppose I didn’t quite clarify what it should have done, I admit I was under quite some stress when I placed the curse. I had limited time and lucency,” Loki explained.

“So what did it do?” Wanda asked.

“In retaliation, it poisoned you with its energy. Instead of it killing you, the energy melded with yours, kick-started by the curse. I don’t know why it would do that, but the Stones are semi-sentient, as you probably know,” Loki expanded.

_ See me? See me? See me? _

“Sentient?” Stark asked.

Loki gave them all an unimpressed look before bringing his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“Honestly, Midgardians,” He muttered to himself, “Yes, semi-sentient. They have wants of their own. The reason two stones have...bonded with me is that I gave them something in return for their power. If one only takes from them, they will eventually overtake their holder, reducing them to puppets.”

“Didn’t the Mind Stone do that? To you?” Bruce interjected quietly.

Loki’s shoulders tensed, his expression hardening into detached numbness. He pushed his raging emotional hurricane down with the other as he remembered what Thanos did to him. The torture, the humiliation of being at his mercy, Maw invading his mind, Thanos tearing him apart piece by piece, stop resisting he said, blood pooling-  _ Stop, don’t think about it. That road leads to places you don’t want to revisit. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about it. Don’t think about him.  _

“Mr. Loki?” Spiderling brought Loki out of his daze.

“That was different. I wasn’t the one using it then. I was weak and pathetic and at their mercy,” Loki replied to Banner.

“Wait a second, are you saying Thanos was controlling you? That Thanos tortured you-” The Captain began.

“What does it matter now?” Loki harshly cut him off.

“What does it matter now?” Captain America repeated.

“Yes, it happened. I have many new scars, I will never be the same, but there is nothing anyone can do about it. So, what does it matter now?” Loki replied bitingly.

“Did Thor know?” Black Widow asked softly.

“Not until recently,” Loki answered.

“Where is Thor?” The metal-armed man had been silent up until now.

Loki went silent, looking down and away.  _ Weak, showing such weakness to mortals.  _ Loki felt his features untwist from their saddened furrow.  _ Feel nothing, feel nothing. Only numbness and comprehension. Emotions do not belong here. _

“Dead.”

The heroes took a moment to process the information before bowing their heads in respect.  _ Did they really know him? _

“I am so-” The one they called Sam started.

“ _ No, _ do not apologize. Say nothing about it. My brother and the rest of Asgard are in Valhalla where they will live forever. End of discussion.” Loki growled.

Another silence fell over the group. Loki seemed good at creating tense silences.

“Thanos will be here soon enough. You have two stones here on Midgard,” Loki slipped into strategizing. 

“Two?” The metal-armed man, Bucky? asked.

“Yes, Time and Mind. Time is with Strange, Mind with Vision, I believe is your name,” Loki clarified.

“Wait, before we do all this, we have to heal Vision. He can’t do it by himself-” Wanda began.

Loki walked forwards, hovered his hand over the flickering wound and looked to Vision. Vision gave a slight nod and Loki reached out with his Seidr. He mended the fibers back together, melding it together with his energy before releasing his hold. The area looked completely healed, a slight green shimmer the only evidence, but even that was slowly dissipating. 

“Thank you,” Vision said.

“Woah! How did you do that?” Spiderling questioned.

“It is...Seidr,” Loki supplied.

“Is that magic?” Spiderling asked.

“I suppose, Spiderling,” Loki answered.

“That is so awesome!” Spiderling complimented. “By the way, I really liked how you turned blue and all icy! You really are an alien!”

Loki took the boy in.  _ So young. _ Stark stiffened out of the corner of his eye, making the rest follow.

“And I am fond of your webs,” Loki said with a slight, amused smile.

Stark relaxed, as did the rest of them. Spiderling went about excitedly. 

“Anyway, there are three stones still not accounted for: Soul, Reality, and Power. Thanos already had Space and Power. Reality is on Knowhere, Power was with the Nova Corp, and the Soul Gem has been lost for millennia,” Loki returned to the topic at hand.  _ Perhaps she would know where the Soul Gem is. _

“Okay, so Thanos will come here first. But there’s not really a place to hold that big of a firefight. And we can’t meet Thanos on his turf, so what are we going to do?” Stark added.

“Wakanda,” Bucky answered.

Loki sat back and listened. He wasn’t intimately familiar with Midgard. He did not know of Wakanda. He listened as Rogers described the country and its terrain, people, and weapons and defense systems. It sounded like a perfect place to make the last stand, but there was one thing missing.  _ I must convince the sorcerer to accompany us. _ Loki turned to walk onto Yggdrasil, to the sorcerer.

“Hey, where are you going?” Bruce asked, calling all attention to them.

Loki looked over his shoulder at Bruce.  _ Why do you concern yourself with me so much? _

“Strange,” Loki said as an explanation.

“Oh, well don’t just run off without telling me, okay?” Banner pushed.

Loki stared a moment before nodding, he turned to create a nook to step into. The space cracked like glass, too much power aimed at the fabric of reality, fueled by his suppressed emotions. Bruce looked at Loki with concern while the rest looked alarmed. Loki quickly fixed the crack. 

“I’m fine,” Loki growled at Bruce.

With that, he disappeared onto the branches of Yggdrasil and quickly departed the space to appear next to Strange. The sorcerer jumped slightly at his sudden appearance.

“Come,” Loki ordered.

“No.”

“What?” Loki asked.

“I’m staying here, where the Time Stone is safe,” Strange responded. 

Loki looked at him dryly.

“I’m in no mood for games,” Loki replied.

“And I am not playing games,” Strange shot back.

_ I gave him a chance, so now I make him. _ Loki shoved Strange onto the branches of Yggdrasil, then once again to where the group was. The group jumped at their sudden appearance, but Strange quickly got his bearings. He brought his hand to the air, orange sparks lighting the room a bit. Loki staunched the attempt without a movement and redirected the energy away from Strange. The sorcerer stared at Loki.

“Try it again, Doctor, and I will not be so nice as to just take the energy away,” Loki threatened.

“How did you…” Strange started.

“Please, staunching another’s cast is child’s play. I’ve been a Master Seidr User for most of my life. You have not seen what I am capable of,” Loki bragged. “Now, we go to Wakanda.”

* * *

On the plane, Loki sat with his elbows on his knees, fingers interlocked in front of his face as he thought about the Soul Gem.  _ Maybe Gamora knows, but will she talk to me? Probably not. Nebula? _ Loki made a face at his own thought. _ What about the Grandmaster? _ The very mention of the man sent a slight shiver down Loki’s spine.  _ He made me too uncomfortable, no. _

“Whatcha thinkin’ about over there, Rock of Ages?” Stark asked.

“The Soul Gem,” Loki answered.

“About where it is?” Natasha questioned.

Loki nodded.

“Any ideas?” Strange added on.

Loki gave distant hum before beginning softly, obviously still in thought.

“Two of Thanos’ children, Gamora and Nebula, might know, but Gamora never even looked at me. Nebula helped Thanos torture me. The Grandmaster just makes me...uncomfortable and I doubt he knows. I once thought it to be in Heimdall's care, but he’s gone. As are the libraries of Asgard, my mother, my father, and Mimir. I have tried myself to find it, to no avail. The Soul Gem is expertly hidden. But how? It is impossible to hide the energy signatures of the Stones. Unless, it’s not in this realm, not this dimension or locked away like the Aether, but that poses another problem. There are infinite dimensions layered on top of ours. Mirror, Astral, Dark, and so on, there’s no way to comb through them all. Unless you had Reality, then maybe-” Loki rambled.

It was a glimpse into Loki’s thought process.

“Let me stop you right there. We get it. It’s complicated and you don’t know,” Stark stopped.

“I was theorizing. It is kind of what I do,” Loki snarked.

“Okay, well we’re landing in a couple of minutes,” Rogers informed.

Just as he said this, the jet rocked a little as it descended. A dull thump gave away the landing and a minute later, the door lowered down to let them out. The monarch greeted them personally, familiarity with the Captain's group. When his eyes landed on Loki, Loki bowed his head in respect.

“Your majesty,” Loki greeted.

“I hear you are the one who knows the most,” T’Challa started.

Loki was taken off-guard by the lack of hostility in his voice. He nodded in agreement with the statement and hesitantly launched into an explanation as they entered the palace.

“And you think the best place to have the stones is here?” T’Challa asked.

“I don’t know anything about this place. I only know that I need to keep Time and Mind out of Thanos’ hands. Where we do that or how we do that doesn’t matter to me,” Loki answered.

“That is not all you are after,” The female general interrupted.

Loki hesitated for a second, his emotions, the rage, and sorrow bubbled to the surface and boiled over.

“You’re right. I want Thanos. I want him kneeling before me, screaming in the same agony I did. I want him to feel every single thing I do to him. I want him to  _ hurt _ . I want to slice every muscle fiber off and let rats feed on his flesh. I want him to beg me for death and I will tell him, ‘no’, just as he did me. I’ll take away anything he holds remotely dear, let him know how this  _ feels _ ,” Loki growls, low and infuriated.

He can feel Banner looking at him, as are the others, but Bruce looks like he just witnessed something so incredibly sad, not like the horrified expressions on the others. Loki inhales deeply, closed his eyes, shoves the emotions back down.  _ Such unrestraint. _

“Loki…” Banner started.

“Apologies, I did not mean to darken the mood, especially with such young ears in attendance,” Loki said calmly.

“Calm hides a storm, Okoye, try not to disturb it,” T’Challa advised.

“Anyway! While Mr. Loki was terrifying all of us, I came up with an idea. If we can’t protect the Stones, could we destroy them?” Peter asked, raising his hand slightly. 

Loki thought on it for a second, as did Vision. Loki made eye contact with Vision.  _ It is your choice. _

“Yes, if there was another energy similar to its own,” Vision trailed, eyes darting to Wanda.

“No, no way,” Wanda started.

Vision looked to him as did Wanda. 

“...I can,” Loki confirmed.

Wanda looked utterly betrayed, but Vision looked relieved. Loki didn’t really care though. 

“No, no, it could work. There would be enough of Vision left to be Vision. The Mind Stone is only a part of Vision, not Vision. It would only be a matter of separating the Stone from him,” Banner rushed.

“Could you do that Mr. Loki?” Peter asked.

“Yes, Spiderling, but it would take time we do not have,” Loki responded.

“But we can go ahead and start. I can do it,” Princess Shuri noted.

“It would take three people off the field, Vision, Shuri, and Wanda,” Barnes added.

“Hardly missed, there are plenty of us,” Stark retorted, a bit harshly.

Loki looked between them, then at Bruce with a raised eyebrow. 

“What’s that about?” He murmured.

Bruce replied with a slight shrug. 

“Bet it’s over Rogers,” Loki grinned.

Bruce nudged him with an elbow and huffed a small laugh. Both of them turned back to find the group staring at them.

“Shit,” Loki muttered before continuing louder, “Stark’s right. Thanos can only get the Soul, Reality, Space, and Power stones. He has Power and Space, but not the other two. With that and his leftover children, Glaive, Midnight, and Dwarf, and his armies, it won’t be that bad.”

“‘Won’t be that bad’ he says as he lists off a bunch of shit,” Sam says.

“You are all capable fighters,” Loki compliments.

“Wow, compliments!” Bruce commented.

“Don’t get used to it,” Loki replied.

“Still though, armies, Infinity Stones, it’s a lot,” Natasha said.

“You have me on your side this time. I am a god, a Seidr master, chaos. It took a team of you to bring me down while I was being controlled by Thanos. You also have the Sorcerer Supreme, Earth’s Defender, a War Icon, and various powered and skilled people. Do you honestly think so little of yourselves to believe you will be defeated so quickly? With that mindset, you will,” Loki warned.

“You’re not stable,” Natasha rebutted.

“I am stable,” Loki growled, unstable.

“No, you are not. You are currently fueled by rage, sorrow, and more rage. You don’t care whether you survive this now that Thor is gone. You don’t think you have anything left to lose,” Bruce listed off softly.

Loki was quiet for a second.  _ He’s right. _

“You’re right. I have nothing. My home is stardust, Asgard gone because of me, my mother dead because of me, Odin dead because of me, Hela dead, Heimdall dead because of me, Thor dead because of me. What good am I? A little Jotun runt, a secondary son, powerful and pathetic, all I do is bring death and destruction, chaos,” Loki lashed out.

“...Damn it Loki, you do have something,” Bruce murmured in reply.

Another tense silence fell over them. 

“We don’t have time to argue about my lack of mental stability. Thanos will be here at any moment,” Loki reiterated.

“Then let’s get started,” Shuri supported.

She led Wanda and Vision down to her lab. T’Challa and Okoye went to rally the troops, leaving Loki with Stark, Banner, Rogers, Barnes, Sam, Natasha, Peter, Rhodes, and Strange. 

“I’m going to get a lay of the land,” Loki said to fill the awkward silence. 

“I’ll come too,” Banner added

“No, my friend, catch up with them,” Loki declined. 

Banner looked a little hurt, but Loki knew he understood. Loki just needed some quiet.

“Wait, Mr. Loki, you need one of these,” Peter quickly said.

He held out a communicator, a small little earpiece. Loki took it, put it in his ear, then stepped through space to come out in the edges of the city. He took in the trees, the sweet sounds of nature. Natural sounds always made him feel calm. The sound was rushing in his ears until it was all he heard. Wind rustling the leaves, an animal moving plants, its footsteps, the birds chirping, the- silence. Nothingness, it all stopped in a second. Loki’s eyes snapped open and he jerked his head up to look at the sky. Ships were entering the atmosphere, one slammed into the protective barrier.  _ Shit. _ Loki bent space to return to Banner, overlooking the fields. Quickly, T’Challa donned his suit, as did the rest of them. Loki heard Stark tell Spiderling to guard Vision.  _ Parental worry. _ Loki touched Bruce’s forehead and a green shimmer engulfed him.

“What’s this?” Banner asked, looking at his shimmering forearm.

“A protective shield,” Loki answered.

“Is this your way of saying I mean something to you?” Bruce asked smugly.

“Bruce, just stay here. You’ll be needed,” Loki instructed. 

“Wait a second, where are you-” Banner started.

Loki had already transported himself into one of the landed ships. The Outriders looked at him for a moment, shocked. 

“For Asgard!” Loki bellowed.

It was all Loki needed to discharge a massive, encompassing wave of fire. The ship was engulfed in green flame in moments. Loki let his seidr guide him, fueled by his fury. Loki was in the middle of manipulating ice to stab outward when Dwarf tackled him out of the ship. Bursting through the metal, they fell. Loki quickly switched their positions to land on Dwarf and cushion his fall. The crater around them was deep and dust was floating into Loki’s nose and mouth. Loki forced Dwarfs mouth open.  _ Dark magic, but I need to make them all suffer. _ Loki opened his own mouth and extracted Dwarfs life energy, the massive creature struggled until he couldn’t. Loki felt Dwarf’s resistance to his death and smirked. He didn’t have enough life energy to survive, he would fade away. Loki summoned Laevateinn and grinned, engulfing the blade in black fire, it would burn the souls as well as the body. Loki knew his eyes were glowing green, a sign his control was slipping. 

“Holy shit,” Loki heard Rhodes murmur.

“What now?” Stark answered, sounding slightly strained.

“Loki just sucked some guys soul out of his body, lit his sword, which he got from nowhere, on fire, black fire, and his eyes are glowing green. Banner, you sure your guy is good?” Rhodes replied.

“He’s fine,” Bruce replied quickly.

It was then that the terraformers were released. Black Panther shouted the order to retreat, the army suddenly flooding backward. Loki grinned madly, dismissing Laevateinn. 

“Watch and learn, Strange,” Loki exclaimed, giddy.

He raised both hands towards the terraformers as they began to fan out. They were each encased in a green shimmer. Loki raised his hand and they raised with them. With a maniacal laugh, Loki clenched his fist and they reduced themselves into balls of twisted metal. With the new projectiles, Loki sent them one by one back at the ships, destroying most of them. Three remained standing at the tree line. 

“Come now, Thanos! Give me a challenge!” Loki shouted to nobody, high on adrenaline. 

“You’ll have to settle with us,” Midnight said coming from behind Loki.

She stabbed at him with her trident.

“Return to the field, this is about to get interesting,” Loki smirked.

“Yes, it is,” Glaive confirmed from Loki’s flank. 

As another wave of Outriders streamed out of the ships, Thanos appeared in a cloudy blue. His left hand was adorned with the Space, Power, and Reality Gems. Thanos quickly entered the fight, easily took down Widow, Captain, War Machine, Barnes, and Black Panther. Bruce was somehow on the field in the Hulk Buster armor. Loki could feel his shield resisting some damage to Bruce. Thanos commanded the stones to life and a ray of combined energy headed straight for Bruce.  _ The armor and shield won’t hold! _ Loki bent space to appear in front of Bruce. He threw a stronger shield up. Loki strained, leaning against the force of the energy. The shield was cracking, but Bruce was still behind him.

“Move! Now!” Loki yelled through gritted teeth.

Bruce stepped aside just in time. The shield shattered and the energy slammed into Loki, shoving him across the plains. Loki’s back collided with a protruding boulder and he heard a crack. He yelped in pain as registered his multiple broken bones. Thanos swatted multiple heroes away like flies as he stalked up to Loki. 

“Come to finish the job?” Loki sassed.

Thanos only grinned at him before the Power Gem surged to life and flashed across Loki’s skin. It was agonizing but not the worst pain, yet Loki screamed. With labored breaths and cut off yells, Loki tried to move, tried to do anything.  _ He’s going to kill me, I’m going to die. _ There was a loud crack of thunder, the familiar roar of the Bifrost.  _ No, impossible, I’m imagining things. _

“Thor! Loki!” Bruce screamed.

“Get away from him!” Thor bellowed as he slashed at Thanos.

Thanos was bullied away from Loki and Thor. Loki saw Midnight's broken body a little ways away, Glaives spear in her heart.  _ Both of them dead then. _ Thor’s hand held Loki’s cheek.

“Brother? Can you hear me? Can you fight?” Thor asked.

Loki nodded.

“Good, then let’s finish this,” Thor said.

They stood up together, brothers united at last. Thor charged into the fray, Loki not far behind. They fought gracefully together, accented by each other’s fighting style. Thor recklessly fighting, strength orientated and close quarters, while Loki lashed out with knives and his magic, logic-oriented and long-ranged. Loki saw an opening in the Outriders, straight to Thanos. 

“Thanos,” Loki informed quickly.

He bent space to deposit them both on Thanos’ flanks. Loki had summoned Laevateinn during the transport. He swung the blade to bite deeply into Thanos’ side. Thor slammed his new ax into Thanos’ chest. Both of them withdrew their weapons, in a nanosecond of eye contact, they nodded at each other. Loki brought his sword into the same wound, Thor aiming directly across from Loki. The strength of their swings met in the middle and cut Thanos right through his waist. He made a small choking noise as his intestines and internal organs met the air. Loki felt the rush of air as Thor’s ax came close to him. Loki was willing to bet Thor felt the same thing with Loki’s Laevateinn. Loki stood over Thanos, staring into his dimming eyes. He bent down to become all Thanos saw.

“I win,” Loki growled before stabbing Thanos through the eye.

Loki breathed out in relief.  _ It’s over _ . 

“Oh, I don’t think so,” Thanos’ voice echoed around them.

Loki stilled, the Thanos beneath him stripped away, as did the scene around them. Thanos was a little ways ahead of them. Vision dead and grey at his feet, Strange trying to crawl out from under Thanos’ large, heavy boot. Thanos placed the Time Gem with its siblings.  _ Where did he get the Soul Stone?! _ Thanos gave them a large grin.

“No!” Loki screamed.

He raced through bent space to come out right in front of Thanos. His fingers poised to snap, Loki lurched upwards with Laevateinn.  _ Too slow. _ Thanos snapped, Loki’s sword glanced off the metal of the gauntlet. Loki looked at Thanos with horror and dread. The Titan was too preoccupied with the ruined gauntlet to pay him any attention. With no effort, Thanos was swallowed by a portal. Loki felt something wrong and corrupting deep in his soul.

“No, no, no, no,” Loki repeated it like a mantra, falling to his knees, hugging himself.

All around him, Wakandan warriors faded away. 

“Bucky?”

Loki turned in time to see Barnes’ gun fall. Loki felt himself fading away, slowly, slower than the rest. He tuned it all out, staring at the ground with wide eyes and heavy breath.

“Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good,” Peter panicked.

Loki breathed faster as his hands turned to dust, the pressure of them on his arms disappearing.

“Loki?” Bruce noticed him.

“No, Loki!” Thor exclaimed.

He fell to his knees beside Loki and embraced him in a heartfelt squeeze.

“No, no, no, not you, please not you,” Thor begged.

“I-I’m sorry. For everything, I’m so sorry,” Loki started.

Thor pulled away to look Loki in the eyes, tears brimmed over and streamed down his face. Loki saw Bruce behind Thor, weeping and shocked, before he looked back at Thor.

“It’s...it’s okay, Thor, it’s okay...the sun...” Loki stuttered out.

He didn’t finish his sentence, the rest of his body fading into dust. Thor let out a soul-crushing scream, clutching at the dust.


End file.
